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grrrly news 8/30

August 30, 2003 05:08 PM posted by lisa : track it (0)

Michigan Issues Revised Admissions Policy
The University of Michigan issued a revised admissions policy yesterday in line with the Supreme Court decision upholding the use of race in admissions but striking down the university's point system. The new undergraduate admissions policy at Michigan will use short essays on the topic of diversity to search for students who will add to "the intellectual vibrancy and diversity of the student body," according to the Los Angeles Times. Because of the additional application readers required to deal with short essays, the new system will be more than 33 percent more expensive than the point-system the school was previously using, costing $2 million a year, the New York Times reports. The new system, called a "holistic review," is similar to the process that smaller and more select colleges use for admissions.

Judgment in Lawal Case Due Sept. 25
A decision in the case involving Amina Lawal, a Nigerian woman sentenced to death by stoning for having a child out of wedlock, will be handed down on September 25. Yesterday, five judges of the Sharia Court of Appeal in Katsina heard eight hours of testimony. "Unfortunately, this case keeps getting adjourned, which adds to the ordeal of Amina Lawal and her son who have not been able so far to lead a normal life," Amnesty International said in a press release.

Major Women's Groups Endorse Carol Moseley Braun for President
Today, on Women's Equality Day, the National Organization for Women's Political Action Committee (NOW) and the National Women's Political Caucus announced their endorsements of former Ambassador and Senator Carol Moseley Braun for President of the United States. According to NOW President Kim Gandy, "After considering the positions and past records of all the candidates lined up to challenge George W. Bush, one candidate stood above the rest for her lifetime commitment to feminist ideals and her 25-year record fighting for the rights of women at the local, state, national and international levels." She went on to say that Moseley Braun will serve "as an inspiration to women and girls of all ages who believe that a woman truly can become President of the United States."

Report Attacks Bush Administration's Science and Politics
A report issued this month accuses the Bush administration of distorting and ignoring scientific studies that goes against conservative viewpoints and appointing panel members to scientific boards based on ideology. The report "Politics and Science in the Bush Administration," was released by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) and conducted by the minority staff of the House of Representatives' Committee on Government Reform

EEOC Sues Caterpillar for Sexual and Racial Harassment
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) earlier this month filed two lawsuits against heavy-equipment manufacturer Caterpillar, charging that the Fortune 500 company failed to act against worker complaints of sexual and racial harassment.

Ten Commandments Monument Moved
After a Supreme Court appeal failed, the 2.5-ton Ten Commandments monument was moved from the rotunda of Alabama's Judicial Building today, complying with a federal court order. The monument, which had been installed by Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore in the rotunda secretly in the middle of the night in 2001, was moved to a private location in the building, according to the Associated Press. The removal of the monument came a week after the deadline imposed by US District Court Judge Myron Thompson. Moore had vowed to defy the court order, but the US Supreme Court refused to hear his emergency appeal, and the eight other justices on Alabama's Supreme Court ordered the monument to be removed.

HPV Language In AIDS Bill Could Discourage Condom Use
The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) issued a report earlier this month accusing the Bush Administration of distorting data on the link between condoms and HPV to try to promote its abstinence-only agenda and to discourage condom use. The AGI report states that the provision of the AIDS funding bill requiring a study of the impact of condom use for HPV, which is linked to cervical cancer, could "undermine global confidence in condoms {and} places men and women at tremendous risk of contracting a number of diseases, and does not address the problem at hand - a lack of access to cervical cancer screening among the world's poorest women."

Women's Groups Release Scorecard on Bush Administration
Three women's rights and health groups today commemorated Women's Equality Day by releasing a scorecard rating the Bush administration on global women's issues. The Global Women's Issues Scorecard on the Bush Administration was unveiled at a press conference in Washington, DC this morning featuring leaders of the three groups: Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority; Jodi Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE); and June Zeitlin, executive director of the Women's Environmental and Development Organization (WEDO). "When women are equal and women are empowered, we are a safer, more secure, and more prosperous world," said Zeitlin.

Report: Domestic Violence in Uganda Increases Risk of AIDS for Women
A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report reveals that the Ugandan government's failure to address rape and attacks on women by their husbands increases women's risk of contracting HIV. HRW asserts that "Ugandan women are becoming infected with HIV, and will eventually die of AIDS, because the state is failing to protect them from domestic violence."

Women on the Edge
It's no exaggeration to say that we've come a long way. The first wave was centered completely around the educational, employment, property and voting rights of Euro-American middle-class women in the 19th and early 20th centuries. While Sojourner Truth's outrage at the exclusivity of the suffrage movement, her famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech from 1851, still resonates for many women of color, the movement continues to evolve, a dynamic collective effort toward the complete political, social and economic equality of all women in society.
As feminism reshapes itself to meet the needs of the women who lay claim to it, increasing numbers of girls and women find themselves exploring their own boundaries – whether by intent, accident, or circumstance.

Battered Women Gain Protection on Military Bases
Civilian protective orders are now enforceable on military bases, closing a dangerous loophole in the legal system that has frustrated advocates for decades.

Kenya's Female Runners Race for the Spotlight
Long-distance running in Kenya has long been associated with men, but in the past few years, women have started to make strides

Survey: Sexual Assault Common at Air Force Academy
Nearly 12 percent of the women who graduated from the United States Air Force Academy this year were the victims of rape or attempted rape during their four years at the academy in Colorado Springs, with the vast majority never reporting the incidents to the authorities, according to a survey by the inspector general of the Defense Department

Hot New Girls' Camps Specialize in Academics, Tech
Girls' summer camps that emphasize computers, engineering, leadership and self esteem are thriving in the United States, but even their organizers are unsure of their long-term effects.

Stanton's Memorabilia Stuffs a Family Closet
As women's right to vote turns 83 today, the great-great-granddaughter of suffragist leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton talks about a collection dedicated to her ancestor's cause and her own wish to add to feminist history

Group helps women return to college
Between her full-time job as a real estate agent at Sterling Real Estate and raising her three sons, Mary Lindgren-Gorman of Austin had little time for fitting in four classes a semester. It was also too much money to put into such a short period of time. She thought she would end up graduating at the same time as one of her sons, ages 11, 13 and 15.
But with a grant from a local group, she's able to afford tuition for a full course load and is within a couple semesters of earing her associate's degree with an emphasis in human resources.

Chick Lit
Bridget Jones's Diary, the 1998 best seller turned Hollywood hit, inspired a spate of similar tales, all starring imperfect career women looking for love.
This contemporary genre, known as "chick lit," short for chick literature, is now setting the pace for an otherwise struggling fiction industry.
"The mega authors — John Grisham, Michael Crichton, Tom Clancy — all have had a fall-off in sales," said Sessalee Hensley, fiction buyer for Barnes & Noble. "But the chick lit is growing, and they're growing exponentially."

Women who travel for sex
Long considered exclusive to men, sex tourism is proving,in some quarters, to be an equal-opportunity pastime. The Globe's LEAH McLAREN looks at the lesser-known side of singles vacations

Iranian women seek equal rights through international convention
The role of women has been one of the most vexing issues in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The importance of recent changes that have taken place for them varies, depending on whom you ask.
Moves are now afoot to get Iran to join an international convention on women's rights.
But hardline leaders are blocking reformists' efforts to sign up

More women opening own businesses
More women are going into business in South Dakota, but the state still ranks near the bottom when compared to other states, a women's group says.

The number of women-owned businesses in the state grew 16 percent from 1997 to 2002, according to the Center for Women's Business Research. That ranked South Dakota 20th in growth.
But South Dakota ranked 47th for the number of women-owned businesses in 2002, figures showed. The center has reported that nearly half of all privately held U.S. businesses are owned by women.

Can helping brutal men aid battered women?
In the past three days, domestic abusers have killed four people in Memphis.
And with the latest deaths added to the 14,000 incidents reported each year, officials and agencies struggle to keep up. Responding to the caseload, the Memphis Police Department's domestic violence unit has nearly doubled since last year, growing from a six-officer unit to one with 11 officers.

62% women lack regular income
CITY Development Cooperative Office chief Nenita Orcullo reveals that in most depressed barangays in the city, 62% of the female households has no regular income and is still struggling on an income of not more than P6, 000. Orcullo said their office was able to identify people below poverty line based on their barangay household profiling.

“These are the people that need assistance from the local government units,” Orcullo said.

Orcullo said wives with no regular income and who only rely on the daily wages and income of their spouse are the contributory factor to poverty

Women Will Have to Save the World
From Iraq to Europe and the United States, cultural resistance by women is emerging against heavily militaristic solutions to political problems. Women may be the most important adversaries male leaders like George Bush have to face.

Bible given fashion makeover to lure teen girls
Where are teenage girls turning for advice about fashion, dating and getting along with their parents? Would you believe, the New Testament

Teen girls hit by cancer-causing STD
Human papillomavirus infections, which can cause cervical cancer, are spreading among teenage girls, according to a survey released Friday by a group of Japanese researchers.
According to the group, led by Kaoru Suzumori, a professor at Nagoya City University and an expert in reproductive and embryologic medicine, cancer-causing HPV was detected in 20 out of 50 girls between 15 and 19 who visited hospitals and clinics to be examined for sexually transmitted diseases

Catholic school won't admit lesbian couple's daughter
A lesbian couple alleges that O'Hara Catholic School in Eugene, Ore., refused admission to their 4-year-old daughter because of their sexual orientation. The couple has complained to the Eugene Human Rights Commission and the Oregon Child Care Division. One of the women, Lee Inkmann, said O'Hara principal Dianne Bert told her in mid August that having a family with two mothers at the school would confuse other children and that gay unions are in conflict with Vatican teachings.

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